Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

For preservation purposes, please use microfilm (Miscellaneous Reels 6302-6305).

Alternate Form Available

Also available on microfilm - Miscellaneous Reels 6302-6305. Interlibrary Loan copies of microfilm also available.

Miscellaneous Reel 6302 - Box 1 (1825 Dec-1826 May)

Miscellaneous Reel 6303 - Box 2 (1826 June-Oct)

Miscellaneous Reel 6304 - Box 3 (1826 Nov-1827 Mar)

Miscellaneous Reel 6305 - Boxes 4 and 5 (Oversize 1825-1827)

Preferred Citation

Virginia. Governor's Office. John Tyler Executive Papers, 1825-1827 (bulk 1826). Accession 42267. State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Acquired prior to 1905

Biographical Information

John Tyler, Jr., was born on 29 March 1790 at "Greenway" in Charles City County to John Tyler, Sr., and Mary Armistead. Tyler's father, John Tyler, Sr., served as governor of Virginia from 1808 to 1811. Graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1807, Tyler read law with his father and was admitted to the bar in 1809. Tyler was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1811, serving until 1816. During the War of 1812, Tyler organized and led a company of militia from Charles City County. He became a member of the Council of State in 1816. Upon the death of John Clopton, Tyler was elected as a Democratic Republican to the Fourteenth Congress and was subsequently reelected to the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses. Tyler returned to the House of Delegates from 1823 to 1825 and was elected governor in 1825. Tyler served a one-year term as governor and part of a second term, but resigned upon his election to the United States Senate on 4 March 1827. He also represented Charles City County in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830. Reelected to the Senate in 1833, Tyler later resigned on 29 February 1836. While in the Senate, Tyler served as President pro tempore during the Twenty-third Congress and chairman of the Committee on the District of Columbia and Committee on Manufactures. Tyler again returned to the Virginia House of Delegates from 1839 to 1840. In 1840, Tyler was elected Vice President of the United States as a member of the Whig party during the presidency of William Henry Harrison. Nicknamed "His Accidency," Tyler became the first Vice President to become President upon the death of his predecessor, as Harrison died shortly after his inauguration. Tyler did not seek reelection as President when his term expired on 3 March 1845. Tyler remained active in political life after his presidency, but did not hold office until February 1861 when he became a delegate and president of a peace conference in Washington, D. C. Following the failure of the conference, Tyler voted for secession as a delegate in the Virginia Secession Convention. Tyler was elected to the House of Representatives of the Confederate Congress, but died on 18 January 1862 before it assembled. He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.

John Tyler was married twice. His first wife was Letitia Christian whom he married on 29 March 1813. Letitia Christian died in 1842 and Tyler was remarried to Julia Gardiner in 1844. Tyler fathered seven children with each wife. One son, Daniel Gardiner Tyler, served as a representative from the 2nd District of Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives. Another son, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, served in the House of Delegates and became President of the College of William and Mary from 1888 to 1919.

Scope and Content

John Tyler's Executive papers primarily consist of incoming correspondence during his term as governor between 11 December 1825 and 4 March 1827. The correspondence in this collection relates to a variety of topics including appointments & recommendations for state positions; Herman Boye's map of Virginia; the Virginia Penitentiary; the Lexington Arsenal; amendments to the U.S. Constitution; the deaths of Thomas Jefferson & John Adams; arms and ammunition; the militia; military bounty claims; public improvements; resignations; extraditions; state expenses & revenue; elections; and others. In addition to correspondence, there are resolutions from the Virginia Senate & House of Delegates; accounts; oaths; contracts; pardons; proposals; receipts; election returns & certificates; qualifications; lists; proclamations; petitions; pay rolls; reports; appointments; resignations; bonds; commissions; orders; proceedings; opinions; and other sundry items.

The Governor received correspondence from three main sources: the Federal government, Virginia State government, and Governors from other states. Federal government correspondents include Littleton W. Tazewell, Virginia's senator in Congress; Daniel Brent, Dept. of State; and James Barbour, Secretary of War.

Littleton W. Tazewell encloses a report of the Committee of Claims in the U. S. Senate rejecting the petition of Francis Larche for the value of his slave killed while impressed in the service of the United States in the defense of New Orleans calling into question the idea of slaves as property (1826 April 24). Tyler's letter to Tazewell in response can also be found (1826 May 2). Daniel Brent served as Acting Secretary of State in the absence of Henry Clay. Brent writes Governor Tyler to acknowledge receipt of an engraved copy of the map of Virginia and encloses a certificate of copyright signed by Clay (1826 July 25). Brent also transmit copies of the laws of Congress in the absence of the Secretary of State (1826 Aug. 5). James Barbour, Secretary of War, writes to James Paxton, Commandant of the Public Guard at the Lexington Arsenal, regarding rations of captains of U.S. Arsenals (1826 Nov. 25).

The majority of correspondence in John Tyler's Executive Papers originates from Virginia State government. Significant correspondents from Virginia State government include Samuel P. Parsons, Superintendent of the Penitentiary; James Robertson, Attorney General; James E. Heath, Auditor of Public Accounts; and Herman Boye, Surveyor.

Samuel P. Parsons, Superintendent of the Virginia Penitentiary, corresponded with Governor Tyler regarding various issues respecting prisoners and the Virginia Penitentiary. On 29 December 1825, Parsons recommends Felix Ferguson to be 4th Assistant Keeper. Parsons also writes regarding slaves condemned for sale & transportation (1825 Dec. 31; 1826 Jan. 16, Feb. 8, & March 1). Additional correspondence from Parsons relate to his bond as superintendent (1826 Feb. 15), a recommendation that Thomas L. Hundley be removed to the hospital (1826 March 8); the purchase of hose for the use of the fire engine at the Penitentiary (1826 May 10); the nomination of John Jacobs as 5th Assistant Keeper of the Penitentiary (1826 June 9); a request for condemned musket barrels at the Armory for the use of the Penitentiary (1826 Sept. 19); and the health & conduct of Charles Noe, an inmate at the Penitentiary (1827 Jan. 8).

John Robertson, Attorney General, provides opinions on the cases of Thomas C. Amory a sheriff in Gloucester County (1826 March 14) and George Boxley accused of attempting to raise an insurrection of slaves in Spotsylvania County (1827 Feb. 3). James E. Heath, Auditor of Public Accounts, corresponds with Governor Tyler regarding his bond as auditor (1826 Jan. 3); the disbursement fund for repairs to the Penitentiary (1826 Aug. 29); and the accounts & vouchers of Thomas Underwood (1827 Feb. 15).

Herman Boye was chosen to fulfill John Wood's contract to create maps of Virginia's counties and the general map of the state. Herman Boye writes on 13 January 1826 to request further payment on account of his services superintending the engraving of the general map of Virginia. Boye later writes regarding the engraving of the map and payment to Henry S. Tanner of Philadelphia (1826 Jan. 23). In addition, Boye writes regarding errors & omissions in the general map of Virginia (1826 Feb. 20); the publication of the general map, copyright, & disposition of the copper plates (1826 March 20 & April 13); the price of paper, printing, coloring, & mounting of the map (1826 April 18); the price for finishing one hundred copies of the map (1826 April 19); Henry S. Tanner's proposal to print & mount the map and enclosing the Pennsylvania Fire Insurance Company policy for houses in Philadelphia storing the copper engravings for the general map (1826 May 9); the balance due to him for superintending the engraving (1826 May 19); impressions of the general map (1826 May 29); and the engraving of the map of Virginia (1826 Nov. 8).

Governors and secretaries from other states comprise a significant amount of correspondence received by the Governor. This correspondence mostly relates to amendments to the U.S. Constitution, extraditions, and the exchange of laws. Included are letters from the following governors or secretaries: William Carroll, Tennessee; Henry Johnson, Louisiana; John Andrew Shulze, Pennsylvania; Joseph Kent, Maryland; Norman Williams, Vermont; & Hutchins G. Burton, North Carolina.

Governor William Carroll, Tennessee, encloses a proposed amendment to the U. S. Constitution to divide each state into districts equal to the number of senators & representatives in Congress (1825 Dec. 15). Henry Johnson, Louisiana, encloses a resolution in favor of the amendment proposed by Georgia that no part of the U. S. Constitution be construed to authorize the importation or ingress of any person of color into the United States contrary to the laws of such state (1826 Feb. 1). Johnson also encloses a resolution against the resolutions of Ohio proposing a plan for the gradual emancipation of slaves (1826 Feb. 16). John A. Shulze, Pennsylvania, transmits a copy of an act to incorporate the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company (act is not present) (1826 Feb. 11). Shulze also writes to demand Joseph Johnson, Thomas Collins, Ebenezer F. Johnson, & John Smith accused of kidnapping free negroes with the intention of selling them as slaves in Virginia (1826 April 17). Joseph Kent, Maryland, encloses resolutions providing for the adjustment of the boundary line between Maryland & Virginia (1826 April 21). Norman Williams, Secretary of State of Vermont, transmits resolutions against the amendments to the U. S. Constitution proposed by the state of Tennessee (1826 Nov. 27). Lastly, Hutchins G. Burton, North Carolina, writes regarding the demand for Flamingham, alias Cawthorn, confined in a jail in Petersburg (1826 Dec. 15).

Additional significant correspondence includes the following: Richard Bland Lee re. his petition to Governor James Pleasants (1825 Dec. 13); Robert Triplett, Agent for Military Land Claimants in Virginia, re. his report of work for the Virginia Military Agency (1825 Dec. 22); John Randolph accepting his election as senator in Congress (1825 Dec. 26); Rembrandt Peale offering a copy of his portrait of George Washington to the state of Virginia (1826 Jan. 24); James Brown, Jr., encl. his bond as second auditor (1826 Jan. 31); Jared Sparks re. his plan to publish a history of the American Revolution (1826 April 2); Richard Jeffries encl. the copyright of the map of Virginia by Herman Boye(1826 April 17); Otis Manson re. his account of expenditures for the improvement of the Public Square (1826 July 1); Samuel H. Smith encl. a copy of the proceedings of the commissioners of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company (1826 July 8); Thomas W. Gilmer re. the death of Thomas Jefferson (1826 July 4); John Bryce, Chairman of a meeting of citizens of Fredericksburg, encl. a resolution requesting a day to mourn Thomas Jefferson (1826 July 11); Severn E. Parker re. the death of his father, George Parker, one of the judges of the General Court (1826 July 18); James Pleasants accepting his appointment as judge of the General Court (1826 Aug. 2); James Monroe accepting his appointment as visitor of the University of Virginia (1826 Aug. 13); James Pleasants resigning as judge of the General Court (1826 Sept. 9); Lewis Ruffner recommending David E. Moore for the captaincy of the Public Guard at the Lexington Arsenal(1826 Sept. 21); James Brown, Jr., 2nd Auditor, requesting to have a window inserted in the wall of his office (1826 Nov. 4); Allen Taylor accepting his commission as judge of the Chancery Court for the Staunton, Wythe, & Greenbrier districts in place of Judge Brown, deceased (1826 Dec. 29); William H. Richardson to James E. Heath requesting the unexpended sum of the appropriation for the Public Square (1827 Jan. 3); Robert Triplett re. claims to military bounty land southwest of the Tennessee River as Agent to Military Land Claimants (1827 Jan. 27); A. P. Upshur accepting his commission as judge of the General Court (1927 Jan. 31); and Philip P. Barbour resigning as judge of the General Court (1827 Feb. 22).

Other noteworthy items include: proclamations offering rewards for the apprehension of escaped convicts (1825 Dec. 13 & 20; 1826 Feb. 13, March 27 & 30, May 2 & 4, July 12 15, & 22, Aug. 1, 12, & 26, Sept. 9 & 23, Oct. 26 & 31, Nov. 21, Dec. 1 & 4; 1827 Feb. 22 & March 1); advice of Council of State regarding the disposal of volumes of Hening's Statutes at Large & Gilmer's & Randolph's Reports by John H. & Thomas Nash and William H. Fitzwhylsonn (1826 Feb. 28); the bond of William H. Fitzwhylsonn & John H. & Thomas Nash as joint agents to sell or exchange copies of Hening's Statutes at Large and Gilmer's & Randolph's Reports (1826 March 7); proceedings of the Board of Directors of the Penitentiary (1826 May 3, July 5, 12, 19, 26, & 31, Nov. 22); a proclamation authorizing the Manchester & Petersburg Turnpike Company to demand & receive tolls (1826 June 17); preamble & resolutions by Governor Tyler upon the death of Thomas Jefferson (1826 July 6); proceedings of the Council of State regarding the death of John Adams (1826 July 10); general orders of R. Jones, Adjutant General's Office, regarding the death of Thomas Jefferson (1826 July 11); the bond of Thomas Hall as Inspector of Lumber for the port of City Point (1827 Feb. 9); and a certificate of election for Richard H. Field as judge of the General Court to replace Philip P. Barbour (1827 March 3).

Arrangement

Organized in chronological order

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Bibliography